


Promise to send me pictures?

by Lxcekitty



Series: Throwing all our concerns away [4]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Acrophobia, Anxiety, Attempt at Humor, Best Boyfriends, Cat Cafés, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, OT9 - Freeform, Panic Attacks, Polyamory, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, happy birthday Minho!, i want a chan, its soft i promise, poor hyunjin too lmao, poor minho, second chapter is just fluff, woojin and chan are good bfs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2020-09-02 07:36:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20272309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lxcekitty/pseuds/Lxcekitty
Summary: "you guys will be heading up the Tokyo Skytree!"The room went silent, all eyes drifting over to Minho. Any hint of enthusiasm in the room vanished and was quickly replaced with this suffocating feeling of dread that Minho knew was felt by all of the members. Minho felt his whole body freeze, his breathing hitched as he kept his eyes concentrated on the floor, knowing that looking up at the worry on his members' faces would only make things much worse.~~~~Stray Kids are filming in Tokyo, when Minho's faced with his worst fear and can't stop himself from panicking.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi, thank you for reading! ♡
> 
> this is Minho's installment of my lil series, hope you enjoy~
> 
> also i know that Minho says he isn't scared of heights anymore but I wrote this anyway. 
> 
> I was originally going to post Chan's first but I'm still not happy with it so here's this one instead!

The shrill sound of Changbin’s phone ringing interrupted the peaceful silence of their hotel room, the sunshine peeking through the pale-colored curtains signalling that morning had arrived in Tokyo. His phone continues to ring, stirring the two sleeping boys from their slumber. 

“If you don't turn that off right now I'll suffocate you,” Minho threatens as he sends a kick Changbin’s way before turns over in the bed pulling a pillow over his own head. 

Changbin hums in agreement, not fully awake enough to pay attention to what was said, but he turns over and reaches for his phone, successfully putting it on silent before turning back around and burying himself back into their warm duvet. 

Less than 10 minutes later Minho’s phone begins to chime.

“Fucks sake,” he grumbles throwing the pillow covering his face across the room as he squints at his phone screen, “it’s Chan-Hyung,” he informs.

**Chan:** you awake? you missed breakfast btw.  
**Chan:** managers want us all downstairs outside the conference room in 10 minutes.  
**Chan:** don't be late!! pls!!  
**Chan:** also tell Binnie to pick up his phone next time!!

Minho huffs as he scrolls through the messages their leader had sent him, he feels Changbin shift towards him laying his arm across the elder's waist, “what’d Hyung want,” he mumbles into the back of Minho’s neck. 

“Says that we need to be outside the conference room in 10 minutes,”

“Hmm, and when did he send it?” 

“About 5 minutes ago,” Minho replies, his sleep heavy eyes suddenly widening, “shit, we have to go!” he cries as he scrambles out of bed, Changbin following in a similar frantic manner, throwing on t-shirts and ripped jeans as fast as possible.

“Where the hell did my cap go?” Changbin mutters under his breath as he scours the floor, kicking at the discarded duvet searching for it before looking up to see Minho standing by the doorway, arms crossed smirking at him, shamelessly looking him up and down.

“I'll leave without you if you don't hurry up,” 

“I know, I am hurrying,” Changbin huffs back, mildly annoyed. He stands up straight to shoot a glare to Minho but instead notices the familiar looking cap sat on Minho’s head, “oh you are so dead!” he shouts as Minho laughs running out the door, not forgetting to grab a pair of shoes on his way out. 

“Before you chase me halfway down the hallway, at least grab the key card and some shoes first!” Minho calls from a little down the hallway, Changbin grumbles something unintelligible but grabs the white plastic key card and shoves on a pair of black trainers as he leaves, smiling as Minho presses the stolen cap onto his head and kisses his cheek.

“You need it way more than I do anyway,” he teases with a sigh, smirking as he waits for Changbin to process what he’d said. 

“Oi, if we had longer to get ready then maybe I wouldn't need the cap,” he shoots back, aiming an elbow into Minho’s side.

“and whose fault is that? You're the one who kept ignoring Chan-Hyung’s calls,”

“But I’m not the one who got in after midnight, was I?” Changbin counters. 

They continue to bicker back and forth, Changbin’s arm around Minho’s shoulders as they rush down the hallways and various flights of stairs until they finally arrived outside the conference room, the rest of the members already there waiting, they all look just as exhausted as he felt; a sleepy-looking Hyunjin was leant against the wall as he half-listened to Seungmin and Jeongin talk, Felix was pressed into Woojin’s side neither of them talking as Woojin strokes through the youngers blonde hair, Chan and Jisung were stood together, Jisung fiddling with their joined hands as Chan heaves a sigh of relief once he sees Minho and Changbin arrive, smiling warmly as he approaches them. 

“You know, a text back would've been nice,” he says, “at least you made it before the stylists did, apparently we’re filming something today,” 

“Maybe it's a new series or something?” Jisung pipes up from behind Chan. 

They didn't have much time to discuss it though as the stylists and makeup crew arrive and unlock one of the rooms as they promptly get to work. 

A while later, hair and makeup done, the 9 of them were ushered into the neighbouring conference room, this one filled with a camera crew and managing staff, the calm atmosphere of the stylist’s room quickly replaced with a buzz of anticipation.

“What is all of this?” Minho whispers to Jisung, who stands beside him.

“No idea, the managers didn't give us any details,” Jisung shrugged, looking around the room, quickly finding his focus as Chan had started their introduction to the staff. 

Minho comes in a little late but it was obvious that no one had noticed. He scolds himself after that, telling himself to _‘get a grip’_ and to _‘be professional’_.

A woman rushes over to them, a bright smile on her scary-looking face as she introduces herself as an organiser for whatever was planned for today. She continues to speak but it all washes over Minho as he realises that something’s suddenly set him on edge; maybe it was almost being late, or being in an unfamiliar city. He didn't know why but he suddenly felt very uncomfortable and claustrophobic being stood in this room surrounded by all this staff and camera crew. He felt someone squeeze his hand, he looked up to see Jisung smiling at him, “you okay, Hyung?” he asks, Minho sighs and nods because really he’s fine, just a little anxious but he supposes that it’s normal to be nervous when surrounded by this many cameras and people watching him. 

A while later once they had all been seated on an overly large sofa, it became apparent that they were going to be filming a new episode for The 9th, alongside their promotions in Japan. All the members were ecstatic and Minho felt himself smiling at their excitement, forcing himself to clap as he remembered that they were being filmed.

As they sat on the sofa waiting for filming to resume, it was obvious that Jeongin, who sat in the middle was feeling a little squished in. Minho, who’s sat beside their youngest bumped their knees together and flashed him a reassuring smile, reaching out to squeeze his thigh. Beside Minho sat Jisung and Felix, who were still animatedly talking about what they might end up filming today. On Jeongin’s other side sat the rest of the members, Hyunjin obviously sat beside their youngest, his long arms draped over him, then sat Woojin, Seungmin, Changbin, and Chan, who weren’t saying much as they just look around the room to see if they can find any clues about what had been planned for the day. 

The woman who had introduced herself earlier claps her hands, startling all 9 of them as she catches their attention, letting them know that they were about to start filming as she hands out pieces of coloured paper to each member. Minho watches her as she hands them out and something in his stomach twists. As she reaches him, he feels someone’s knee bash against his and he quickly thanks her, she smiles and moves along onto Jisung beside him. 

“Are you okay, Hyung?” Jeongin asks but he doesn’t get a chance to answer as the staff interrupt, apparently the camera’s were still rolling. 

“Okay, please open your pieces of paper now!” she calls, voice sending shards of ice down Minho’s spine. 

Excited noises were met with confused mumbling as each member unfold their pieces of paper and read the contents inside, Minho took a breath and opened his own and is met with the number 3. He frowns in confusion but recovers quickly as he spots Jeongin’s piece of paper with a number 2 on it. 

“Look Innie, the paper is telling you how old you are!” he pointed wildly as the rest of the members erupt into laughter at the pout that appearing on Jeongin’s face, it quickly disappearing into wide smiles as Jisung reaches over and pinches his cheeks. 

“Okay, who got number 1?” the staff ask to which Hyunjin, Changbin and Jisung raise their hands, “ah, well you three will be heading to a cat cafe in Shibuya!” she announces. 

“Wow! Really, are you serious?!” Jisung splutters in excitement, reaching over and high fiving Hyunjin. 

“we get to go and play with kitties!” Hyunjin smiles clapping enthusiastically. 

Minho smiles and claps for them though he feels something pull in his heart, something akin to jealousy. 

“Next, who got paper number 2?” 

Jeongin, Seungmin, and Felix raise their hands, looking at each other excitedly, claiming that they would have the best Hyung-free day. 

“Oi, watch it,” Changbin scolds them jokingly, leaning over to hit at Felix’s thigh.

“You don't even know what you're doing yet,” Woojin points out.

“Yeah, what are we going to do?” Jeongin asks smiling brightly at the staff lady.

“Well,” she smiles back, clearly charmed by their youngest, “you’ll be learning how to make special Harajuku crepes,” 

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to make those!” Felix celebrates, happily clapping his hands. 

“You’ll have to teach us when we get home because I’ve always wanted to know too,” Chan smiles at Felix, who nods with excitement showing him a small thumbs up. 

“And lastly, the remaining members with paper number 3, you’ll be heading to the Tokyo Skytree!” she announces. 

The room went silent, all eyes drifting over to Minho. Any hint of enthusiasm in the room vanished and was quickly replaced with this suffocating feeling of dread that Minho knew was felt by all of the members. Minho felt his whole body freeze, his breathing hitched as he kept his eyes concentrated on the floor, knowing that looking up at the worry on his members' faces would only make things much worse. He felt a gentle hand creep onto his thigh to give a reassuring squeeze, grounding him. Minho heaved in a breath, he knew the cameras were still filming, he had to do something, he couldn't just start freaking out like he so desperately wants to do. Instead, He looks up then, his eyes meeting with Chan, who’s watching him closely, worry obvious in those deep brown orbs, he looks almost ready to stand up and demand for the filming to stop.

It takes him a few moments but Minho holds their gaze before smiling widely, standing up and cheering. Thankfully Chan and Woojin catch on quickly and join in, much to the confusion of the other members. 

“Finally, an excuse to get rid of my stupid fear!” Minho cheers, as he reaches out and high fives Woojin, who smiles along with him but doesn't miss the way his hands shake as they touch for a brief moment. 

“Okay!” the woman interrupts their small fake-celebration, “we’ll meet you outside the car park in 10 minutes, don’t be late,” she tells them, already moving to help pack away the camera equipment, attention now diverted away from the members.

Minho collapses back onto the couch, he feels arms immediately wrap around him and pulling him into their side, when he looks up he’s greeted with Jeongin, who’s smiling down to him gently, he says nothing but holds him tightly. Minho’s thankful, he really doesn't want to talk right now, not fully trusting his voice not to break as he closes his eyes, pretending that everything was just fine.

“Hyung?” Minho hears Jisung say tentatively from where he’s sitting beside him, hands slipping into others. Minho hums to show that he’s listening, “do you want to swap numbers with me?” 

At that Minho opens his eyes and sits up, holding Jisung’s hands tighter, “but you’re scared too,” he reminds him. 

“Yeah,” Jisung laughs nervously, “but cats are your thing, we can swap, I wouldn't mind,” he says as he holds out the pink folded piece of paper, offering it for Minho to take, Minho feels his heart swell. 

“Sorry boys, but there'll be no swapping!” the woman says as she walks past them, overhearing their quiet exchange as she leaves the room. Minho feels his chest constrict even more, he really hates the feeling this woman’s giving him. It takes everything in him not to glare at her as he watches her disappear along with the other staff members. 

Minho looks down at the pink piece of paper still in Jisung’s hand, and then back to his other hand intertwined with his, he sighs heavily, “n-no, Sungie, it’s okay. You go and have a good day, okay? Make sure to send me lots of pictures though, promise?” 

Jisung looks as though he might cry as he nods his head, “I promise, Hyung,” he whispers as he squeezes their hands together once more before letting go, standing up and presses a kiss to Minho’s temple as he leaves the couch and walks over to where Hyunjin and Changbin were waiting to go. 

Minho watches as the three say goodbye to the rest of the members before heading on their way to the arranged meeting place. Not a minute after they’d left Minho feels his phone chime in his back pocket, he pulls it out and smiles softly as he reads the message.

**Jisungie:** I'll keep my promise, Hyung <3 

As Minho thinks of a response he feels someone move to crouch in front of him, he looks up to see Chan, “Minnie, can I borrow you for a moment?” he asks, holding out a hand for Minho to take, which he does as Chan leads them out of the conference room and down the hall, but not before signaling to Woojin that they’d be back in a moment. 

Chan leads them through the maze that was the hotel’s floor plan until they end up inside his hotel room, Chan always has a room to himself, knowing that one of the members will come and join him throughout the night, usually it’s Hyunjin or Felix as they don't cope well with sleeping away from home. The second they step inside the room, the soft click of the door closing behind them, Chan pulls him into a tight hug, Minho lets out a shaky exhale as Chan rubs at his back. 

“I’m fine, Hyung,” Minho tries but he felt Chan shake his head and hums in disapproval.

“There’s nothing we can do, but Woojin and I will be there the whole time, I’m sorry it turned out this way,” Chan tells him softly.

“It’s not your fault Hyung,” Minho responds trying to stop the tears threatening to spill, “I just wish it didn't turn out like this,” 

“Me too,” Chan says as he pulls away enough to wipe away a few of the tears that Minho lost control of, being careful not to smudge his foundation, “but we'll be there the whole time, you’ve done things like this before you can do it again, I just wish you didn't have to,” 

Minho sighs and nods, letting a small sob escape his lips. It’s rare for him to cry like this, especially with another member present but Minho allows himself this moment with Chan. Chan knows, of course, he does, he's seen Minho like this before and knew what to do, he trusted Chan.

“We should go,” Minho sighs, wiping away the few stray tears.

“Yeah, but only if you’re ready to go,” Chan tells him seriously, fully removing himself from their hug but keeping a tight hold on the other’s still shaking hand. 

“I mean we could just stay here all day, I can think of a few things I’d rather be doing right now,” Minho smirks as Chan snorted. 

“Come on you, as much as I’d love to spend the day here with you, poor Woojin’s waiting for us and you know how grouchy he gets,” Chan smiles as he pulls Minho in for a quick but soft kiss before dragging him out of the hotel room and back towards the conference room.

“Ah, you’re back,” Woojin smiles as he watches Chan and Minho return to the conference room. Woojin steals a glance at Minho’s puffy eyes and lips, immediately knowing that he’d been crying but says nothing, “they’re all waiting downstairs, should we go?” he asks Minho directly. 

Minho sighs ignoring the dread flooding his chest again and nods taking Woojin’s hand that’s offered for him as the three leave and make their way to the car park where the staff would be waiting. 

The car journey was peaceful enough, Minho still keeps an iron grip on his member's hands as his mind continues to race. They see the Tokyo Tower approaching through the rain stained windows and Minho feels his chest begin to tighten, as he processes just how high up they’ll be.

They stand outside the entrance of the building, camera crew around them as they cheer and talk about the Skytree they were about to go up, Chan skillfully leading the conversation away from Minho who stands silently beside him, hand clasped tightly in his, luckily hidden by the sleeve of the oversized coat he’s wearing as he tries to look as not-completely-terrified as possible. 

“So shall we go?” Chan asks him and Woojin, signaling that the cameras were about to wrap up with filming, Minho cheered a little, smiling as he felt his heart drop into his stomach. 

It wasn’t until they were in the elevator that Minho realises fully what was about to happen, he’s thankful that it was just him, Chan, Woojin and the camera crew all gathered in the lift and no one else. As soon as the lift doors close and they feel the elevator begin to lift upwards, Minho rushes to bury his face in Woojin’s chest. Woojin’s quick to wrap his arms around the younger and hold him securely as he feels his shoulders shake. Woojin exchanges a worried glance with Chan as he reaches out to run gentle hands through Minho’s soft hair, smiling sadly as Minho relaxes into the touch. 

All too soon the elevator ride comes to an end along with the peaceful silence that had settled in there. ‘This is it’, Minho thinks to himself. 

The staff usher them out of the lift, letting the doors close behind the last person out of the lift and Minho feels his heart sink, he’s stranded. Minho listens closely, his head still tucked into Woojin’s chest, not caring who sees. He hears Chan’s voice call out for one of the staff members and Minho lets out a small sigh of relief when he realises what he’d asked. 

“Excuse me Noona, I'm really sorry, I don't want to sound rude or anything but would it be possible to start filming a little bit later my boy-my friend,” he quickly corrects himself, “he’s not so good with heights,” 

Minho doesn’t hear what the staff responds with but he assumes it was something positive as Chan approaches them telling him that everything’s, “all sorted!” 

“Almost got caught there Channie,” Woojin jokes, trying to lift the tension a little, Chan and Minho laugh in agreement before Woojin turns to Minho, trying to pull him away from his hiding place, “I know you’re not going to like this Min, but we need to start moving around, we won't go near the windows I promise,”

Minho wanted to cry all over again as he was softly pulled away from the safety Woojin’s chest, Chan immediately wrapping his arm around his waist as Woojin holds his shoulders, “you’ll be okay, just don’t look past Woojinnie,” Chan reassures him, gesturing over to where the floor to ceiling windows stand proudly displaying the breathtaking views of Tokyo, to anyone else it would be amazing and beautiful but Minho can't even bring himself to look up from the blue carpet underneath his feet, “it’s okay,” Chan reassures him, gently coaxing his rigid body to take a step forward. Minho feels so stupid as he’s made aware of the cameramen starting to crowd around them again in an attempt to get footage, his tiny footsteps getting harder and harder. 

“I-I, I can't,” Minho says, voice shaking almost as hard as his legs, “I can't do this Chan,”

As soon as he’s finished talking, his legs collapsed from underneath him, Woojin and Chan quickly reach out to catch him before he crashes into the floor and hurts himself, instead, gently lowering him to the floor. Through his sobs, he briefly hears Chan sternly tell the cameraman to “just stop it, stop filming!” 

Minho curls his body into the smallest ball that he can, not caring about the various people probably staring at him right now as he cries, he feels beyond stupid, embarrassment only fuelling more tears. He jumps a little as he feels Woojin’s warm hands grip at his shoulders. 

“Listen to me Min, look at me, baby. You’re okay, we’re here. Me and Chan are here with you, we’ll protect you,” 

“Wooj-Hyung, I, I can’t- I don’t-”

“Minnie, its okay, it’s alright, no one is mad at you,” Chan tells him, pulling his hands away from where they’re tightly gripping his hair, still sending scowls over to the cameramen who try to film this, “we’re right here darling, we need you to calm down and then we can think about getting you back down, yeah?” 

“But we can't do that whilst you’re panicking baby,” Woojin explains as he rubs circles into his tense shoulders. 

It takes a while for Minho to come back to his senses, his breathing still laboured and uneven, he’s still crying but not as hard anymore. They’re tucked safely against a wall, where the windows aren’t fully visible. They decide on letting Minho be the one to make the first move, knowing that rushing him will only make this whole thing worse. They sit in silence, each of his hands clasped safely in one of his partners, his head resting on Chan’s shoulders, face in his neck as he breathes in his cologne, tucked safely away from the windows as Woojin runs patterns up and down his thighs. 

“I’m sorry,” Minho finally whispers, unsure of how long it’d been. Chan and Woojin quickly quieten him, telling him that he has nothing to be sorry for. 

“Listen to me Min,” Chan says, squeezing their hands together, “I’m the one who should be sorry, I shouldn’t have let you even come up here, I should’ve made them swap you out with Jeonginnie or Hyunjinnie,” 

Minho whined and shakes his head, he knows that even if Chan had tried he wouldn’t have been able to do anything, the words of the organiser ringing around in his head but he quickly pushes them away, “no Hyung, its okay. I really thought I could do this,” 

“You shouldn't have forced yourself,” Woojin speaks up, “this is hard for people who aren’t scared of heights, for you to do something like this is stupid, so stupid but so brave,” he laughs gently, bringing their joined hands to his lips pressing a kiss to his knuckles, “I’m so proud of you for trying this, baby,” 

“Hmm, me too,” Chan adds, kissing his temple, “not everyone could do what you just did,” 

Minho feels his eyes start to water again, but this time it's different, whilst they still aren't happy tears, they’re happier and that counts for something. Before he can say anything more to his Hyungs, he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket, he pulls it out from his coat and smiles as he sees the contact names appearing on his phone. 

Woojin and Chan look over his shoulder as he unlocks his phone and starts to scroll through the many unread messages, a wet laugh erupting as he looks through the many cat pictures Jisung had sent to him as he’d promised. 

**Sungie:** here hyung :3  
**Sungie:** [image attached]  
**Sungie:** [image attached]  
**Sungie:** [image attached]  
**Sungie:** [image attached]

“How did he know?” Woojin huffs a laugh as he watches Minho’s eyes light up at the cat pictures, mumbling a soft, _“they’re so cute,”_

Minho’s eyebrows raise in surprise as he sees another message light up his phone, but this time it's from Jeongin and Minho wastes no time opening it up. 

**Innie:** cheer up Hyung <3  
**Innie:** [image attched]  
**Innie:** we made these for you Minnie-Hyung! 

In the images attached are Felix, Jeongin, and Seungmin each holding up messy looking crepes with cat faces drawn in chocolate on the sides. 

“What a mess,” Chan laughs as he points out the chocolate smudges on Jeongin’s cheek and all over Felix’s white t-shirt. 

“I miss them,” Minho suddenly blurts, closes his mouth quickly it’s unlike him so say cheesy things so outright like that, a soft smile still playing at his lips as he saves all of the photos. 

“Changbin just texted, saying we’re all meeting for lunch,” Chan says stealing a glance at his own phone but doesn’t make any moves to leave, knowing that Minho should be the one to decide when he was ready. 

* * *

“Okay,” Minho steels himself, forcing himself to keep calm, “can we go now?” 

“Of course,” Chan and Woojin say at the same time, the pair quickly racing to _‘jinx!’_ each other, forcing a huff of amusement out of Minho despite himself. 

“Let's go,” Chan says, standing up slowly, holding out a hand to pull Minho up, “we’ll go slowly, so tell us if you want to take a break,” 

Minho nods, keeping a firm grip on Chan’s hand as Woojin suddenly comes to stand in front of him. Minho looks at him, confusion clear on his face. 

“There’s no way you’re going to walk all the way back down the stairs,” Woojin tells him a teasing smile playing at his lips. 

“There’s stairs?” Chan asks head tilting in the way that Minho finds adorable. Woojin hums and nods in affirmation. 

“You mean we have to, to walk down?” Minho says, dread filling his chest all over again. 

“I'm afraid so, but it's okay, that’s why I'm going to carry you,” 

“You’re going to what?” Minho repeats incredulously as Chan just laughs. 

“Trust me,” Woojin says, “you’re not going to walk it, especially seeing as you collapsed back there, so let me carry you,” 

“Okay,” Minho relents, usually he would put up a bit more of a fight but in truth, he knew that Woojin was right, his legs were already shaking underneath him and he was too exhausted to protest any more. 

Woojin’s smile was golden as Minho hopped onto his back, the tips of his ears burning bright red in embarrassment as he buries his face into Woojin’s neck, “let's go!” Woojin sings as they start walking.

“Shut up Chan-Hyung, I can hear you laughing,” Minho whines, overly aware of the eyes on him as they start to walk towards the stairs, “you too Woojin-Hyung,” 

What Minho didn't know and wouldn't see was that Chan had called the cameraman back over and told him to film all of this, knowing it would be hilarious whether or not the footage actually made it into the series or not. Woojin watches as Chan bends over wheezing as he laughs and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing as well.

“He’s going to kill you,” Woojin mouths to Chan. 

“I'm not scared of him,” Chan shoots back. 

* * *

By the time they get to the ground floor, the cool rainy air greeting them as they finally stepped outside, Minho had fallen asleep on Woojin’s shoulder. 

The two decide, along with the film crew, to leave him to sleep, for now, he must’ve been exhausted, Minho wasn't the type to let himself be vulnerable like this, not unless he’s alone with the rest of his members. Together they and the crew decided not to film the rest of their day, instead, just letting them take Minho back to the hotel to get some proper rest. Woojin shoots off a text to Changbin letting them know they wouldn't be meeting for lunch. 

* * *

“What a day,” Chan sighs as he dumps his coat on the desk chair in his hotel room, turning around and watching as Woojin gently sets Minho down on Chan’s bed, softly stroking his hair away from his forehead and pressing a kiss there. It was sweet, though he couldn't help but feel the guilt still eating away in his chest. 

The two look at each other in surprise as they hear a knock on their hotel room door, “you didn't order room service already did you, Woojinnie?” Chan asks suspiciously. 

“Chan, we’ve just walked through the door, of course not,” Woojin reasons with a smile, moving towards the door and opening it. 

“Room service!” various voices shouted echoing down the hallway, startling Chan and Woojin. 

Standing there in the hallway where the rest of their members with various plastic bags in their hands, the mouthwatering smell of fresh food surrounding them.

“You guys-!” Chan says, unable to find words as they all file into the room, greeting him excitedly before moving to find spaces on the floor and bed. 

“We brought you food Hyung! It would’ve been no fun without you guys there,” Hyunjin tells him, handing him a bag filled with all types of greasy fast food, pressing a kiss to his cheek before skipping over to where Seungmin was making himself comfortable on the plush armchair. 

“Why’re you all there though, shouldn’t you all be filming?” Chan asks, “You didn't ditch filming did you?” 

“Of course not Hyung!” Jeongin giggles as Hyunjin pulls him on top of his and Seungmin’s laps.

“No, we finished filming earlier than we thought,” Seungmin tells him, eagerly unwrapping a burger that was handed to him. 

“So we came here!” Felix says, “we were going to get lunch until you told us you weren’t coming,” 

“Ah, yeah, that,” Chan sighs, rooting through the bag and handing out food to the waiting hands. 

“Is he okay?” Hyunjin asks worriedly peering over towards the bed. 

“He’s okay, just worn out I think,” Chan reassures them all, “let him sleep though, he needs it,” 

“He panicked didn't he?” Changbin asks nodding sadly. 

“He uh, yeah,” Chan admits, “I’m sure he’ll tell you about it when he wakes up, for now though, let’s just eat,” 

The group all gather around and start digging in. 

“What kind of secret eating club am I missing out on?” Minho says, voice rough as he sits up rubbing at his eyes tiredly. 

The whole group stop eating and turn to him with bright smiles. 

“Hyung, you’re awake!” Jisung says immediately leaping onto him, his food forgotten, “we saved you stuff!” 

“Thanks, Sung, now get off me, I can't breath,” he fake wheezes and gently pushes a laughing Jisung over to the other side of the bed. 

Chan and Woojin’s eyes meet, small smiles exchanged as they knew Minho was okay, back to messing around with his members. 

“Here,” Changbin says, handing Minho a burger as he comes to sit between him and Felix, the latter immediately scooching over and cuddling up close to him. Minho thanks him and starts eating along with the others, all avoiding talking about their morning’s not wanting to set things off again. 

“So, we’ve got the afternoon free?” Jeongin says, scrunching up the paper wrapper of his burger and aiming it towards the bin, “we should do something, it’d be a waste to just spend it cooped up in here,” 

“I agree,” Changbin says, reaching over to high five Jeongin when he makes the paper ball into the bin, crying out in celebration.

“I have an idea,” Jisung pipes up, covering his mouth as he chews, “I want to take Minho-Hyung to the cat cafe,” 

Minho’s head snaps over to where Jisung is sitting, smiling softly at him, “you want to go back, really?”

“Of course, you missed out on it and the cats were so cute!” 

“Okay,” Chan interrupts, “if anyone else wants to go, you can,” 

“Nope!” Hyunjin says, before erupting in a sneeze, “I forgot that I was allergic to cats, I could hardly breathe in there!” 

The group laughs at Hyunjin’s expense, “you should see the photo’s I got, they're pretty funny,” Changbin adds. 

“I'll come with you,” Felix says, “Jeonginnie wanted to go too,” 

That afternoon they split off into two groups, a shopping group and a cat-cafe group, each bidding each other goodbye, before getting onto trains taking them to different sides of the city. 

Somehow Minho felt calm despite being surrounded by thousands of strangers in a bustling city train. He decided to lean against Felix’s shoulder as the train started to move, listening to the way Jisung told them all about the cats, smiling whenever Jeongin would squeak in excitement. He pulled his phone out from his jeans when he felt it vibrate, he couldn't help but smile at the messages from Chan the picture containing a soaked and miserable-looking Hyunjin, his wet clothes hanging off his slim frame as Seungmin’s pictured to the side laughing so hard he has to lean against a very shocked looking Changbin who’s clearly trying not to laugh himself. 

**Chan:** [image attached]  
**Chan:** hope you have a better afternoon than us!  
**Chan:** call us if you need us, love you Min <3

Minho let himself smile as he read the messages and immediately set the image as his phone background, he knew his afternoon was going to be wonderful. 


	2. A safe haven for us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his whole ordeal earlier that morning Jisung takes Minho to a cat cafe, that's it that's the fic uwu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey there thanks for stopping by i'm still a piece of garbage!
> 
> i KNOW its been ages since i updated this fic but i'm back with the promised cat cafe chapter for our precious minho's birthday ♡♡  
i'm not joking when i say that this is the softest thing i've ever written i hope you enjoy it!! ♡♡♡

Jisung’s hand was warm in his as the younger excitedly leads him up the stairs to the cat cafe as he tells Minho all about the cats there and how cute they were. It had been cute the way that Jisung made sure that he was okay to go up the three flights of stairs just in case it spiked his anxiety once again, but Minho was quick to reassure him that he was fine as he left a small kiss to their joined hands. He was sure that the glow on Jisung’s face would last for the rest of the day,_ ‘good,’_ Minho thinks, _‘he looks beautiful when he's happy like this,’_

Minho breaks away from his thoughts as he feels Jisung nudge him in front of the doors, grinning ear to ear as he says, “you first, Hyung,” 

Minho has to stop himself from mirroring Jisungs grin as Felix comes to stand a little behind him, but still reaches out to hold his hand, Woojin and Jeongin panting as they finish climbing the stairs.

He takes a step forward the automatic doors with little paw print decorations open for them and a young woman greets them with a warm smile and the cutest kitten that Minho’s ever seen in her arms, he has to physically stop himself from squealing by squeezing Felix's poor hand. 

“Ouch Hyung,” Felix attempts to complain but gets interrupted by Minho’s awestruck _“look…”_

Felix bites his lip as he sees the stars glittering in Minho’s eyes. 

“I knew he’d love it here,” Jisung smirks but it falls on deaf ears as Minho’s already halfway inside the lobby to the cafe and greeting the woman and kitten waiting for them there. 

“Good afternoon! Welcome to our cafe,” her smile only brightening as her eyes fall onto Jisung, “you were here this morning, I remember you! It's rare that we have someone visit twice in one day,” 

“Ahh yeah,” Jisung laughs awkwardly, “I'm here for him this time,” he answers easily as he gestures towards Minho. 

The woman laughs sweetly and holds the kitten out for him to take and Minho stops breathing for a moment, it's grey and white fur even softer than he imagined. As soon as it settles in Minho’s arms it begins to purr and Minho lets himself smile at the pretty thing in his arms as Felix peers over his shoulder and runs a gentle hand through its soft fur, the purrs only get louder. 

“You guys go on ahead whilst I pay for everything,” Woojin ushers them away towards the cafe, Jeongin’s eyes sparkle like a puppy as he grabs Felix and Jisung’s hands and drags them towards the side of the cafe where an array of cat toys and scratching posts are, any cats that are nearby scatter in fright and Minho can't help but chuckle. 

“You too,” Woojin nudges him careful not to disturb the kitten in his arms, “get lost, we’re here for you after all,” he says in mock annoyance though his smile betrays how he truly feels as he kneels down to pat a passing cats head. 

So Minho leaves Woojin at the entrance of the cafe, choosing to head towards a quiet corner of the cafe where there are a few pillows scattered around the floor. He gently sets himself down on the pale blue pillow next to a cat that reminds him of Changbin, sleeky black fur and simply gorgeous, he sets the kitten in his lap and blinks slowly as the black cat looks up at him, wondering if it was worth moving away from him or not. Apparently, the cat decides that he’s not a threat and goes back to his slumber shortly after. 

He quickly decides that this is infinitely better than visiting the Skytree or even going shopping in the cold and rainy streets of Tokyo like the other half of their group were currently doing. He sits quietly and takes a moment to obverse the cafe around him. 

It was big, but not huge with a cozy vibe about the place where nothing was rushed and Minho found himself falling in love with the place more and more as each second passed. There aren't many people in the cafe but Minho wasn't surprised seeing as it was the middle of the afternoon on a weekday but he likes it this way, quiet with one or two people coming and going. His eyes fall onto Woojin whos lying down with a large orange cat that reminds him of one of his own resting on his chest as they both look seconds away from sleep, Minho smiles as he feels his heart filled with a warmth he hasn't felt in a long time. 

“You must be Minho?” a voice appears from beside him, startling him at the familiar language, “the boy with a similar affinity for cats as myself,” 

“Hello,” Minho smiles and tries to bow as best he can with a cat in his lap, the older woman who stands before him chuckles a laugh and moves the fat Changbin-like cat from his pillow and sets him down on her lap instead, the cat grumbling in protest before melting into a purr. 

“Your friend who was in here earlier spoke highly of you, poor boy was spluttering and sneezing as much as he breathed,” she laughs as Minho just rolls his eyes as he thinks back to Hyunjin, trust the boy to meet and befriend people wherever he goes, “he’s a sweet boy,” 

“He is,” Minho agrees softly as he runs his hands through the kitten's fur, “do you visit here often?” 

“Oh, you silly boy,” the woman laughs heartily, “I own this cafe, I'm here every day,”

“Your cats are beautiful,” Minho breaths, not meaning for his eyes to sparkle in the way they do. 

The woman thanked him softly and together they lapse into conversation, the rest of the cafe disappearing around him as Minho finds himself solely focused on the old woman in front of him and the cats that surround them, rubbing themselves against his body. They talk for a while, the woman about how she set up the cafe after her husband told her to stop bringing home strays and Minho giggles softly as he mumbles, _“that sounds like something I’d do,” _and the woman just smiles. Minho tells her about his life, but not as the Korean idol LeeKnow but as Lee Minho, the timid but independent boy who lives with 8 boys who he loves dearly when they are safely away from the public eye and imposing cameras that threaten to destroy everything. He tells her about each of them, their quirks, what they like and don't like and the woman simply hums as she listens intently. 

“You're always welcome here,” she starts when silence lapses over the two of them, “I know it's far from your home but we’ll be pleased to welcome you here again,” 

At her kind words, Minho finds himself welling up with tears for the second time that day, but this time for a very different reason. 

“I know I’d love to see you here again,” she continues reaching out to rub the grey and white kitten’s tummy where it's still resting on Minho’s lap, “and I can tell you that Kumo would be more than pleased to have your lap to nap on again,” 

“I'd like that,” Minho whispers softly as he distracts himself by wiggling his fingers at a large white cat that's walking past him with feigned uninterest, “thank you,” 

The woman runs her hand through his hair before standing up from the cushions to clear away a few empty coffee cups scattered on various tables, but not before leaving Minho with a few cat treats and a wink that he easily returns. She leaves and deposits the black cat back on the cushion as it happily chirps and settles down for another nap and Minho giggles at its laziness, “you’re just like the Bin I know,” he mumbles to it as he rubs the cat's cheeks with a finger.

The surroundings of the cafe slowly come back into focus as Minho looks around in search of his boys, unable to stop himself from smiling as he sees Woojin fully asleep with the orange cat still on his chest along with a brown one curled up on his stomach. He can hear Jisung and Felix giggling as they play with two Tabby kittens in the far corner but his smile quickly fades when his eyes fall onto a sad-looking Jeongin who’s sitting by himself twirling a cat toy in his hand, seeming to be doing a better job of entertaining himself with it than any cat that's sat nearby. 

He feels bad leaving the grey and white kitten after it's been sat with him for so long but Minho sets her down gently, running his hands through her fur once more before moving to stand up on half-asleep legs. 

“What’s up, Jeonginnie?” Minho asks as he sits down beside the youngest, gently coaxing the cat toy out of his grip and replacing it with his own hand, Jeongin linking them together without thinking as he tears his eyes away from the patch of carpet he’d been glaring at, pout only increasing as his eyes meet with Minho’s.

“They don't like me, Hyung,” Jeongin whines sadly, “every time I go near them they run away from me, I'm not that scary, am I?” he asks clearly distressed at the idea of being so scary that even cats will run from him. 

Minho tries not to but he laughs softly at his youngest boyfriend’s despair, said boy only turning to look offended at his laughter as he opens his mouth to complain but Minho gives their hands a firm squeeze and leans closer to press a kiss to the side of his head in a silent apology. 

“Hyung…” Jeongin pouts, “I'm serious, don't laugh…” 

“I'm sorry baby, it's not that its just,” Minho starts to say, shifting a little closer to Jeongin, who leans his head onto his shoulder, “you're loud and excitable, of course, they'll run babe,”

“But I don't know-” 

“Its okay, I’ll show you,” Minho says as he guides them both to the carpeted floor, “here,” he mumbles as he grabs Jeongin’s hand and manually opening up his palm, the boy tilting his head in confusion as he watches him with wide and interested eyes. 

“What is it?” he asks, studying the strange brown biscuit in his hand before Minho folds his hand gently into a fist, being careful not to crush the biscuit. 

“Its a cat treat,” Minho says nonchalantly as he gestures for Jeongin to copy him and held his hand out lowly for the cats to see and take an interest in, “that's it, now sit and stay still, they have to come to us, okay?” 

“Okay Hyung,” Jeongin says, trust clear in the way he smiles at Minho.

Soon enough the fat white cat comes plodding over, not rushing in the slightest and Minho ends up grinning at the fact that the cat's attitude is not that dissimilar from his own.

“Look Hyung,” Jeongin whispers excitedly, dark eyes lighting up as the cat finally gets with touching reach of Jeongin, “what do I do now?” he asks nervously and Minho finds his heart-clenching, the boy beside him wanting nothing more than for the cat to befriend him and like him enough that he could cuddle it.

“Let him come up to you,” Minho starts to say but is interrupted by Jeongin’s squeal of delight as the white cat nuzzles against his hand, pink nose sniffing softly at his hand before headbutting it again. Jeongin looking at Minho, eyes filled with child-like joy, all traces of his sadness gone as his smile lights up his face.

Slowly Jeongin opens up his palm revealing the cat treat laying there, the cat gets closer now, inspecting the treat with slight suspicion but eventually decides that it's safe enough for him to eat, “Hyung,” Jeongin whispers and Minho hums softly, moving to gently brush the stray red strands away from the boys eyes so that he can see everything clearly, “what if it bites me?” 

“Then you die,” Minho jokes back, trying not to crack at Jeongin’s shocked face, “game over,” 

“Hyung,” Jeongin whines again, eyes widening as the cat finally decides to take the treat from his hand, the boy giggling at the sensation, “it tickles,”

When the cats finished its treat it moves onto Jeongin’s thighs, happily sitting down as it lets Jeongin run his hands through the fur and Minho can see how he’s almost straining to keep himself still as to not scare the cat away. 

“See,” Minho whispers as he picks up a cat passing by, placing it onto his own lap, “you’re so good with them,” 

“Only because you taught me, Hyung,” Jeongin responds softly smiling as he sees Jisung and Felix approaching quietly as to not startle the cats on their laps. 

“Minho-Hyung’s a cat whisperer,” Felix laughs softly as he holds up his phone to snap a few pictures of them. 

“He is,” Jeongin says, “he even got the cats to like me,”

“Silly, the cats already like you,” Minho reassures. 

“Yeah, you're just too loud,” Jisung laughs at the way Jeongin pouts. 

Jisung wanders over to wake up Woojin while Felix stays and sits beside Minho linking their hands together gently and Minho can't help but realise that times like these are rare, where all of them feel so completely at ease, so relaxed without a care in the world. 

* * *

“Minho please don't do this,” Woojin begs, trying to hold in his laughter as he watches Minho roll around on the floor, probably covering himself in cat fur but he figures there are worse things to think about right now, like how in the hell he was supposed to drag Minho away from the cafe without causing a scene, “Minho please, Chan and Minnie are outside waiting for us,”

“But Hyung….” Minho whines like a petulant child, “I can't leave yet, they love me too much to leave,” 

Woojin rolls his eyes as he hears Jisung, Felix and Jeongin laughing in the background at his pain, “I'm more than sure that I love you more than these pretty cats, baby, and I’d rather like to take my boyfriend home tonight,” 

At the elder's unexpectedly sweet words, Minho feels a steady blush rise on his cheeks, curse the eldest for being the only one besides chan to make him blush so easily, with simple sweet words. Minho scowls at Woojin’s smirk as he bends down, holding a hand out for him to take, “let's go yeah?”

“Fine,” Minho pretends to sulk as he takes his oldest boyfriend's hand letting him pull him from the floor, the cats that were surrounding him quickly dispersing to various corners of the cafe. 

They almost make it to the cafe doors before Minho hesitates for a moment, prompting Woojin to stop walking and turning to look at him, concern in his eyes, “everything alright Min?”

“Yeah I- just give me a moment? I'll meet you all downstairs, don't leave without me I'll kill you,” he says as he looks back into the cafe, eyes searching for the one thing he refused to leave without saying goodbye. 

“Okay,” Woojin smiles, letting their hands drop to their sides, “any longer than 10 minutes and we’re leaving,” he teases but Minho knows better. 

Minho waits for Woojin to drag the younger boys out of the cafe, thanking the woman at the desk on their way out before he makes his way over to one of the cafe chairs and tables, where the old woman is lightly scolding a pretty black and white cat with bright green eyes for jumping up on the table. 

“I've told you more times than I can count, don't do that pretty boy, you know it makes you look bad- oh Minho, my sweet what can I do for you?” she smiles kindly and gestures for him to sit opposite her. 

“I just wanted to thank you,” he says simply, letting his hands be enveloped by her much warmer ones, “before I came here today I had a horrible time, that affected me more than I thought it would and then you and your beautiful cats welcomed me here and I just couldn't leave without thanking you,” 

“You sweet child,” the woman smiles, seemingly choked up by his words, “in all the years I've owned this cafe I've never seen someone who bonds with them like this. I hope you find your own happiness Lee Minho, with those boys of yours and with the cats of your own back home. I hope that one day we will meet again, it's been a pleasure,” 

“it's truly been mine,” he stands up and bows deeply to the woman. He offers her a sincere smile as he rubs at the pretty cat's cheeks before making his way towards the cafe doors that lead away from this safe haven tucked away in the middle of a bustling city.

* * *

Chan is carrying Felix on his back when Minho greets them, shivering for a moment as the cool air of the early evening, at least it was no longer raining; not a single cloud in the sky. Everyone greeting him with smiles as he joins them, hands immediately linking with Woojin’s as he leads them down a road he doesn't recognise.

“Isn't the station back that way?” he asks confusedly, a smirk on his face as he wonders if they thought they were going in the right direction. 

“I can hear your thoughts Min,” Woojin sighs fondly, “we’re meeting the others at Yoyogi park,” 

Minho nods and lets himself be lead there, half-listening as Seungmin tells Jeongin and Jisung about their shopping trip. 

The suns setting when they finally find the others, the directional clues of _‘we’re by a bunch of trees,’_ really isn't very helpful. The others greet them excitedly, picnic things laid out on a blanket as the trees wrapped in fairy lights start to glow in anticipation of the sun going down and Minho can't help but think of how perfect this all is. 

They eat happily, exchanging stories of their day and funny things that happened but one thing, Minho realises, has yet to be explained so he brings it upon himself, smirk unable to hide itself even before he starts to speak. 

“So,” he says, waving his wooden chopsticks in the direction of Hyunjin, “care to explain what happened earlier?” he asks laughing as he watches Hyunjin’s face light up red in embarrassment as Seungmin and Changbin start cackling, just like they had been in the photo chan has sent him.

“Nothing happened,” Hyunjin murmurs as he shoves a piece of fried chicken in his cheeks. 

“I'm not so sure about that,” Minho smirks, “it takes a lot to get them to laugh like that,” 

“You have to tell him, Jinnie,” Seungmin says between gasps of air. 

“Yeah the rest of us want to know too!” Jisung adds as he reaches over to nab another rolled omelet and stuff it into his cheeks. 

“I'll tell you,” Chan speaks up, their leader gathering that Hyunjin wasn't going to explain it himself, Hyunjin shoots him a playful glare but doesn't outright stop him so he sees that as a green light to continue. 

“So we’d just gotten out of Shinjuku station,” Chan begins already struggling to keep his laughter down, “and we were headed towards this shop that we’d heard about but it took a while to walk there, it was along this main street and because it’d been raining so hard earlier on there were puddles everywhere,” 

“Like everywhere it was crazy,” Changbin reaffirms before erupting into another fit of giggles which only set Seungmin off again, the two leaning on each other for support as they couldn't keep their laughter down. 

“You guys are mean!” Hyunjin pouts but Minho sees the hint of a smile playing at his pretty lips. 

“Anyway,” Chan continues successfully quietening them down, “so we were walking down this street filled with puddles, and we thought we were lucky that there weren't that many cars around- Bin and Minnie shut up- so bless Hyunjin, who’s happily skipping down this road couldn't see where the curb ended as it was surrounded in a puddle that he clearly hadn't seen,” Chan takes a moment to laugh himself, finding it harder than he first thought to regain composure so Hyunjin sighs and takes over. 

“So I fell in the puddle okay?” he sighs only adding to the comedy.

“But you didn't just fall,” Changbin points out, “you stumbled for a good 20 seconds before you actually fell,” 

“Splash,” Seungmin helpfully adds only to set himself and Hyunjin off into fits of giggles, everyone else joining in. 

“Ughhh, it was so embarrassing,” he pouts as he covers his face, “so many people saw it too, don't be surprised if there's a viral video of it on the internet tomorrow,” 

“I hope there is,” Minho smiles, “I’d kill to see it,” 

“You're all so mean to me!” Hyunjin cries, “you're lucky I love you all,” 

A chorus of _‘I love you too’s_ and left over giggles fill the air and Minho lets himself settle in the warmth and comfort that they bring. 

It's later now, the sun having fully set and the food been cleared away and thrown into the nearest bin. Minho lies back onto the blanket with Seungmin and Hyunjin’s heads in his lap as they watch the rest of their boyfriends chase each other around the park in a game he’s more than used to playing (and cheating) himself. 

As he watches the way the glow from the fairy lights wrapped around the park trees lights up their cheerful faces he lets himself think back to the day he’s had, it'd been a long one, that much was clear, but now he feels more relaxed than he thinks he’s ever felt before. He finds it difficult to comprehend how things had gone from so awful this morning to so perfect this afternoon, but he doesn't care as he decides that he’d willingly go through it all again if it meant he could feel as happy as he does right now watching the people he loves most be happy and they scream and shout as they chase and tackle each other to the ground, it warms his heart more than he cares to admit. 

A cold hand reaches up and strokes at his cheek, when he peers down he sees that its Seungmin, who’s smiling sweetly at him, “you're too in your head again,” he says. 

“‘M not, just thinking about today,” he tells him softly, running his hand through the dark silky hair, much like he’d been doing all afternoon with the cats in the cafe, though Minho finds himself preferring this. 

“Did you have a good day?” Seungmin asks quietly after realising that Hyunjin had fallen asleep. 

“Yes and no,” he says honestly, “but id do it all again in a heartbeat if it meant we could be like this again, altogether without a care in the world,” 

“You're a sap sometimes,” Seungmin giggles. 

“I'm no such thing,” Minho protests, tugging at Seungmin’s hair but not hard enough to hurt. 

“I'm glad you had a good day, Hyung,” Seungmin says with a yawn as he repositions himself on his side as he lets his eyes close, his dark eyelashes fanning out against his cheeks. 

Minho sits quietly and feels Seungmin’s breathing even out, knowing full well that he wasn't going to carry them back to their hotel like this. He watches the boys he loves most play in the park and remembers what the woman in the cafe said to him, just before he left. 

_“I hope you find your own happiness Lee Minho, with those boys of yours,”_

Maybe he already had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk if any of you have ever been to a cat cafe before but i 10/10 recommend it as long as you chose a good one where the cats are well looked after!! if you've ever been pls tell me about your experiences cause i need that kind of soft in my life rn ♡♡♡
> 
> thank you for reading!! kudos & comments always appreciated so feel free to request things cause I'm more than happy to write stuff ♡♡♡

**Author's Note:**

> *looks around nervously*  
so do any of y'all want the cat cafe chapter?
> 
> thank you for reading!! ♡♡  
kudos, comments & requests always appreciated!


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